Plastruct’s round rod fluorescent RED can be effectively and easily shaped using a heat gun. The trick to a good bend is the distance from the heat source and timing... as well as patience and practice! I was able get the hang of it with only using a few test pieces. I used the LOW setting (750 degrees on my gun), several inches away from the rod, keeping slight tension on the rod until it started to bend. If you’re new to using acrylic rod, as I am, make sure you’ve got extra lengths of rod for those test pieces! This rod “gathers light from the sides of the rod and emits it from the ends” as stated in the item description, and I’ve found alternatively a light source on the end will light the sides. Centering the light source on both ends of the rod increases the brilliance over longer lengths.